


Wisdom and truth

by floatingaway4



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4
Summary: In which June is deprived of Instagram gold, and Alex is a backseat driver
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 30
Kudos: 271





	Wisdom and truth

**Author's Note:**

> Coming home from an absolutely shitty day yesterday, I was trying to distract myself, and I thought --Wouldn't it be fun to write "drugged Alex"? 
> 
> And it WAS fun! I hope it's also fun to read!

June’s excitement bubbles over. “This shit is going online! I’ll live stream it.” 

“The hell you will,” Alex declares. “Don’t you need to go back to DC for...something?” They both know she doesn’t; the start of a second term is a bit of a honeymoon phase for politicians. 

“But this is my only chance, you _have_ to let me! Everyone else I know already had theirs out.” She turns to the only person who might be in her corner. “Henry, you’ll let me, right?” 

“Leave me out of this,” he begs, without looking up from the book on his lap. 

Alex continues to stare daggers at his sister but flings a hand sideways to smack his boyfriend’s arm. “H, marry me right now so I can get a title and make her obey me.” 

Henry still doesn’t look up. “Alex, I have a title and it’s never once inspired obedience in you.”

Alex slides across the couch to press himself tightly to Henry’s side. “You can’t let her, baby. It’s embarrassing.” He rests his head against Henry’s arm. “Haven’t we had enough internet scandals?” 

Henry closes his book and looks over at Alex. “I’m not getting left out of this, am I?” 

“Seriously, babe, you have to protect me from my evil sister. I’ll be in a compromised position!” Alex looks pleadingly up at Henry and bats his eyelashes. 

Henry can’t hide a grin. “Stop doing that. And you’re having your wisdom teeth removed, Alex. You’re hardly a damsel in distress.” 

“You’d like that, though, wouldn't you, Prince Charming?” Alex’s murmur rumbles in his ear. Henry blushes and June groans.

“But you’ll let me come over and record him, right, Henry?” June presses. “Look, I fake dated you, you both owe me a favor.” 

“Too soon, Juniper,” Alex says, crossing his arms. 

“But I--”

Henry holds up a hand in an effort to pause this argument. “June, it’s not that I don’t appreciate your participation in that immense clusterfuck, but I can’t let you record him.” Henry rubs his forehead anxiously. “I’ve had quite enough of our private lives being leaked to the press, thank you very much.” 

“But this wouldn’t be leaked, I’d be putting it out on purpose!” June is obviously giddy with the thought. “I’ll get so many likes! Anesthesia videos are Instagram gold!” 

Alex glares at her again, then turns to his boyfriend. He leans in and whispers something to Henry. 

Henry bites his lip, looks into Alex’s eyes to confirm that he’s serious, and then looks over at June. “No, June, you can’t record Alex while he’s drugged.” He looks back at Alex, who nods once, approvingly. 

“What? Why?” she whines, arms folded. 

Alex smirks at her, victoriously, as though he knew from the beginning she could never win this argument. “Because _I_ have leverage.” 

Henry shrugs and nods in helpless agreement. 

“What lev-- _ughhh_. You horny bastards.” 

Henry blushes harder and looks away, but grins. 

  
  


***

Henry meant it when he told June she couldn’t record Alex. And he isn’t going to do it either, because he only needed to be hacked once to learn his lesson. 

It doesn’t mean he’s not going to enjoy this, though.

It had started when he got Alex into the car after his appointment. 

“Henry, is the car driving itself?” Alex had asked, his voice slightly muffled from the cotton gauze stuffed in his mouth.

Henry looked up toward their driver, then back at his puffy-faced boyfriend, and made a decision. “Yes, Alex, the car is driving itself.” 

For whatever reason, Alex then started holding his arms in front of him and making odd noises, like he was…

“Alex, are you having a light saber battle?” 

“No, dummy!” he said, as though it was obvious. “I’m driving the land speeder!” 

Henry had hit the button to roll up the privacy divider. If Alex was going to drive the land speeder, he could do it without an unnecessary audience. “Ah. Carry on, love. Watch out for that droid.” 

He got Alex home and into bed, having already prepared to stay with him for the rest of the day. He’d gathered a stack of books, his laptop, and snacks. He even moved the electric kettle to the nightstand. 

Alex floats in and out of sort-of-sleep for the first hour or so after they get home. He mutters a few times, but nothing Henry can make sense of. 

Henry is sitting up in bed and actually getting work done on his laptop, when Alex pops up and grabs his arm. 

“Henry! I traveled back in time!”

Henry delights in the childish excitement on Alex’s unguarded face. He puts his laptop on the nightstand, safely out of reach. While Alex was “driving the land speeder,” he’d nearly punched Henry in the nose. 

“You did? Where did you go?” 

“I went back to the wedding.” 

“Which wedding?” Henry assumes he knows, but Alex’s train of thought can be a wild ride on the best of days. Drugged Alex is an unpredictable bundle of free association. On the car ride home, he’d told Henry stories about his first communion, his SAT scores, and sriracha sauce. 

“Your brother’s wedding!”

“Ah. Did you enjoy it more the second time?”

“Yup! Told you I loved you.” He throws his arms up in exasperation, and Henry has to lean back to avoid being hit. He glares at Henry accusingly. “You didn’t believe me.” He flops back onto his pillow but Henry stays where he is, afraid to be in the line of fire if Alex pops up again.

“I’m sorry. The next time you travel back in time, I promise to believe whatever you say. Did you do anything else while you were there?”

“I called you baby. ” He turns on his side and grabs the collar of Henry’s shirt. “And I kissed you. You’re sushagoodkisser,” he slurs. 

“I must have liked that,” Henry tells him, smiling at the thought. 

Alex rocks his head back and forth on the pillow, his face sad and pouty. “Nuh-uh, you pushed me into the cake.” 

Henry can’t help but laugh. “Well, of course I did. I guess that part is just our destiny.” 

Alex laughs too. “We’re destiny, baby!” He waves his hands over his head like he’s framing a marquee, forcing Henry to jerk backward again. “We’re Destiny’s Child.” He starts singing, “Say my name, say my name,” and Henry half-wishes Alex could have his wisdom teeth removed every day. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to record little snippets, just for his own enjoyment later. Never, _ever_ to be used as blackmail….

Alex seems to take a break for a moment, curling into Henry’s side with his eyes closed. He startles suddenly, his eyes wide open and unfocused. “Henry!” he calls, as though Henry hasn’t been right next to him the entire time. 

“Yes, dear?” 

“Henry, baby.”

“Yes?” Henry takes Alex’s hand, less from affection and more to keep it safely away from his own face. If Henry ends up with a black eye from all of this, he’s never going to be able to explain it to the press. 

“Baby, baby, baaaaaby,” Alex sing-songs. “That rhymes!” 

“Does it, though?” asks Henry. 

“Nobody puts baby in a corner,” Alex says, and laughs until he almost can’t breathe. 

Henry grins at him and starts to reach for his phone. One video can’t hurt.... 

“We’re gonna have baaaaabies.”

Henry cocks his head. “Are we? Is this your way of telling me you’re expecting?” 

Alex pulls his hand away and tries to caress Henry’s face, but it’s clumsy and he ends up lightly smacking him instead. “You are so, so, so, pretty. How are you so pretty?” His expression is genuinely mystified. 

“Are you petting me, love?” 

“Gonna make suuuuch prettybabies,” he slurs. 

Even though he knows Alex is looped out of his mind, Henry still gets a little teary at the thought. “I’d love to have babies with you, Alex,” he whispers. Drool seeps out of the corner of Alex’s mouth. “Not today, necessarily,” Henry adds, “but someday.” He reaches for a tissue to wipe Alex’s chin. 

Alex gets teary. “I was mean to June.” 

Henry nods. “I’m sure you were. When, specifically?” 

The tears shut off as quickly as they started. “When what?” Alex asks, wide-eyed again. “Hiiii!” he looks at Henry as though he just materialized in front of him. 

Henry shakes his head. He would never wish Alex to be in pain, but this part is rather enjoyable. For Henry, anyway. “Why don’t you try to sleep, love?” He combs his fingers gently through Alex’s hair. 

“Can’t sleep,” he mutters, as he begins to do just that. “Henry?”

Henry sighs. “Yes, dear?” 

“Richards is a fucking bastard.” 

“Agreed. Now go to sleep.” 

Alex starts to snore and Henry picks up his book. He reads for about 20 minutes, one hand absently playing in Alex’s hair, when his phone pings. 

**_Seriously, Henry, can I record him now?_ **

**_You don’t have to tell him…_ **

**_NO_ **

**_Urrrggghhh I hate you both_ **

**_Be that as it may, the answer is still no_ **

  
  


The next time Alex wakes up, he starts speaking Spanish, which leaves Henry at a loss as to how to respond. Whatever he’s saying, Alex is cracking himself up. He’d call June for help translating, but he can’t risk it. Henry considers responding in French, just for the hell of it, but it’s no fun speaking French if Alex isn’t fully there to get turned on. 

Alex closes his eyes, and Henry thinks he’s asleep again, until he asks, “Why did you leave?” 

Henry rubs Alex’s arm gently. “I didn’t leave, darling. I’m right here.” 

“No, the lake house. Why did you leave me?” 

The emotion in Alex’s voice hits Henry like a gut punch. He risks leaning over Alex’s face, wanting to stare into eyes that are still closed. “Because I was a coward,” he kisses Alex’s forehead, “and an absolute fool.” He’s suddenly glad Alex can only have his wisdom teeth out once. 

Alex grabs at Henry’s sleeve, without opening his eyes. “Don’t go.” 

“I told you, I won’t. Never again.” 

Alex’s eyes fly open. “Are you an angel?” 

Henry smiles, blinking tears away as his voice trembles a little. “I don’t know. Am I?” 

Alex smiles. “My angel.” Confusion quickly clouds his face. “Am I dead?” 

“No, dear. You’re very much alive.” He cups Alex’s cheek, careful not to hurt him. “You’re the most alive person I know.” 

The confusion fades. Alex rubs one eye with the back of his index finger. “Do you think heaven looks like the chapel in the V&A?”

Henry truly doesn’t know what to say to that and can’t bring himself to joke about it. “I….I don’t know.”

“Maybe the V&A just looked like heaven,” Alex suggests, not entirely nonsensically. 

Henry pictures them there, twirling in a slow circle in each other’s arms, kissing in the sweet, lazy way they almost never had time for back then. “It did to me,” Henry tells him seriously, and bends down to whisper over Alex’s now sleeping face. “Saints’ names belong to miracles.” He presses a kiss to Alex’s forehead. “That’s from one of my favorite writers, you know.” 

His phone pings again, this time from Bea. He waits until Alex stills on the pillow again. 

  
  


**_Didn’t Alex have his procedure today?_ **

**_He did. He’s fine, we’re home resting_ **

  
  
  


**_Is June helping you take care of him?_ **

**_She’s such a good, loving sister_ **

**_You should call her if you need a break_ **

  
**_Bea!! You bloody traitor!_ **

**_I remember when you used to be on my side_ **

  
  
  


**_I’m the traitor?!?!? You’re the one shacked_ **

**_up with an American!_ **

**_Sorry, she’s my friend😊_ **

**_I said I’d try_ **

  
  


**_I’m going to block you_ **

  
  


**_Bite me, little brother_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think I'm good with words, but I can't express how much all your positive feedback has meant to me!


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